High street furnishing chain Carpetright has issued a profit warning and announced the immediate departure of its chief executive, Darren Shapland. He will be replaced by chairman and founder, Lord Harris of Peckham, who will become full-time executive chairman.
Shares dropped by around 10% today as the update denied hopes that better conditions in the property market were benefiting Carpetright.
The firm added that due to a combination of a softer UK market and a further step down in the Netherlands, it was likely full year profit would be significantly below expectations.
In the 10 weeks to September 29, sales at stores open more than a year were down 2.5% in the UK and down 7.6% in the Rest of Europe division, which is made up of the Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland.
Lord Harris described trading conditions in Britain as volatile and in the Netherlands as 'extremely difficult'. He will run the business with Graham Harris, currently trading director, who will step up to the position of chief operating officer.
